Can-body machine.



R. G. CLARK.

CAN BODY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1914.

Patented May 9, 1916.

5 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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CAN BODY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1914.

Patented May 9,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 mamas R. G. CLARK.

CAN BODY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FlLED MAR.25, 1914.

hl fifi, Patented May 9,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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CAN BODY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1914.

Patentm May 9, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

R. 'G. CLARK.

CAN BODY MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1914.

Patented May 9, 1916 5 SHEETSSHEET 5.

mmms.

RQBERT CLARK, on mill YUP-old, N. Y.

can-none Maonrnn.

insects.

Application filed March 25, 191 3;.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that l, Ronna'r G. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in a Can-Body Machine, of which the following is a specification.

lhisinvention relates to a can body ma chine used in the manufacture of sheet metal can bodies.

The object of the invention is to provide a simplified and improved construction in a machine for forming can bodies in which the speed, output and eiliciencv of the ma chine are materially increased and, on account of an improved construction and'ar rangement of the parts, the cost of construction and operation of the machine is decreased.

Among the novelfeatures of the inven tion is the mechanism for bending the metal blanks in a peculiar manner and the simultaneous operation upon the ends of the blank by a single tool or mechanism, all of which permits an extremely rapid operation and increased output-oi the machine.

The several consecutive operations upon the successive blanks are performed continnously and upon several blanks simultaneously, provision being made for advancing each blank from one operating station to another and simultaneously feeding forward another blank to take its place, con sequently, no time is lost while the several successive operations are being performed upon any one blank.

()ther novel features of the construction will appear more fully hereinafter in connection with the description of the machine embodying the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the operation of which will be tullvdescribed hereinafter and the novel features defined in the claims.

in the drawings like parts in the several views have been given the same reference numerals.

Figure 1 is a. side elevation of a can body machine. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view, partly in section, of the central portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1.' Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1.. Fig. is an enlarged sectional view on the line of Fig.1. Fig. t is a deta l Specification of Letters Patented May 9, 1mm.

Serial No. scarce.

longitudinal vertical section on aline passing through the forming horn, showing-in i ace view the notching cutters illustrated in 4-. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. -Fig. c is a perspective view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation of a pen tion of the mechanism' shown in Fig. 7, taken on the line 8+8. Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 1,, F ig. i0 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1, taken on the line 10-10. Fig. '11 s an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1, taken. on the line 11-1; Fig. l2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. l. i3 is a view of a portion of Fig. 12, showing a subsequent position of the mechanism. Fig. llis a sectional view taken on the line ii i4. Fig. 12. Figs. it, is and 1.7 are fragmentary views showing consecutive operations of the mechanism shown in Figs. l2, l3 and 14:. Fig. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the feeding mechanism, taken on the line l8 18 of Fig. 2. 1.9 is a fragmentary top plan view oi a portion of one of the feed bars. Fi 20 is a sectional view on the line 2U-20 oi Fig. 19. 211 is a sectional view on theline 21-21 oi Fig. 19.

A suitable base i is provided with an upright 2 and an upright bumper column 3 which support the table upon'which a re ciprocating slide 5 is mounted' A. cross head 6 is attached to and operates the reciprocating slide 5, the cross head being operated from a crank disk 7 mounted upon a shaft 8 which is driven by any suitable means, such as the driving pulley 9.

The means for operating the reciprocat- ,ing slide 5 from the cross head 6 comprise a crank block 10 and a crank pin 11 on the crank disk 7., The crank block it) is received in a vertical slot in the cross head 6, which is also provided with a horizontal slot through which the shaft 8 passes, thus causing a reciprocating movement to be imparted to the cross head 6 and slide 5 as the crank disk *4 is rotated, as will he undr'er stood by reference to Figs. 1 and 12.

A feed support 12 is mounted upon the same are fed through the machine and operated upon, is indicated in the several views by A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.

An automatic device for placing the blanks successively in position in the sup port 17 may be used in connection with this machine, if desired, but for the purposes of this application the machine is shown in a simple form in which the blanks are placed in osition by hand in the support 17.

s the upper feed bar 31 is moved forward with the slide 5 the feed dogs 14 engage the blank and move the same from its position at A to the position indicated at B, where it passes under the forming wings 18 and 19, as shown in Fig. 3. The forming wings are pivotally mounted upon the table 4 at 2020, and 21-.21', respectively, and are locked in their closed position by means of the locking handles 22 and 22 for the forming wing 18) and 23 and 23' for the forming wing 19). The locking handles '22 and 22 are each provided with a lip 24 at the lower end and the locking handles 23 and 23' with a similar lip 25 (Fig. 3). When the locking handles are swung to their closed positions these lips 24 and 25 engage beneath corresponding "projections from the table 4 and thus the formingwings 18 and 19 are locked in their closed or operative positions. This construction pro vides easy means of access to the blanks in the machine, to remove the same if they become jammed and also for access to the interior of the machine, by merely unlocking the'handles and swinging the forming wings about their pivots.

The wings 18 and 19 are shaped at their forward ends to provide outer members for forming or bending the blank about the horn the rear portion of the wings constituting guides for holding the blank as the same s advanced and operated upon, as will be explained hereinafter. The forming ends of the wings may be separate therefrom if desired.

The blanks are new advanced from the position shown at B to that shown at C in in the top feed bar 31 and is normally held in its operative position by means of a spring, which permits the same to pass underthe blank when the feed bar is moved to the left, the blank being held against return movement by spring operated latch, members 13 and 13 mounted in the wings 18 and 19, respectively.

In its forward movement the blank is bent downwardly on either side by the curved faces on the forward ends of the wings 18 and 19 over the forming born 26 into an inverted U shape and the lower ends of the blank are engaged by guide shoes 27 and 28, which cause the blank to be evenly positioned upon the forming horn.

The blank is now engaged by the reciprocating side feed bars 29 and 30 and advanced from position C to position D, Figs. 1 and 4. The side feed bars are shown in detail in Figs. 19, 20 and 21 and are provided with a number of dogs, such as 33, positioned in transverse slots and are held in position to engage the blanks bymeans of the spring 34, which is engaged in longitudinal slots in the feed bar and dog, the opposite 'end of the dog forming a pivot and abutting against the end ofthe slot, as shown. The spring 34 abuts against one end of the'slotin the dog 33, thus holding the same in position. This provides a simple construction in which the dogs may be readily placed in position or removed by forcing the spring 34 out of its slot in the feed bar and sliding the dog and spring sidewise outof the feed bar. As the feed bar is reciprocated the projecting end of the dog is forced downwardly and passes under the blank and then springs up to engage the same on itsreturn, as will .be readily understood.

The blanks are new advanced by the side feed bars 29 and 30 into the position indicated at D in Fig. 4, in which position the operation of notching the corners of the blank is performed. A notching die 35 is mounted in the wing 19 and a similar notching die-36 is mounted in the horn 26, as shown. Two pairs of notching cutters 37 37 and 3838 are adjustably mounted upon the notching block 39 by means of the bolts 40 and 41 for the notchingcutter 37, the bolts 42 and 43 for the notching cutter 38, the bolts 40. and 41 for the notching cutter 37, and the bolts 42' and 43 for the notching cutter 38. The cutters of the respective pairs are located one behind the other, as shown in Fig. 4. The cutters of the. respective pairs are located one behind the other as shown in Fig. 4. The notching' block 39 is mounted upon a support 44, which is movable transversely on the table 4, as will be described hereinafter. transverse movement of the support 44 The iaeaecs causes the notching cutters 37, 3'? and 38, 38 to cut the notches simultaneously in the downwardly projecting ends of the blank D these notches being indicated at d, Fig. 4?. r

The blank is next advanced 'into the position indicated at E in Fig. 5, where the operation of bending the ends preliminary to forming the hooksis performed. A bending die 45 is mounted in the born 26 and a second bending die a6is similarly mounted in the wing 19. Bending tools 4.7 anda8 are adjustably mounted upon the block 49, which is attached to the support a l. A block 50 is attached to the bottom of the support 44 and is received in an angular slot in the reciprocating slide 5, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The reciprocating movement of the slide 5 causes a transverse movement of the support 44-, together with the notching cutters shown and described in connection w' h Fig. l and the bending tools shown in F 1g. 5, just described. The bending operation is thus performed simultaneously upon the two lower ends of the blank.

The blank is next advanced into the position F shown in Fig. '2', in which position the ends thereof are acted upon by a second bending device to form the hooks. A hook forming die 51 is positioned in the horn 26 and a similar die 52 is positioned in the wing 19. A forming block 53 is mounted on the lower side of the wing 18 and a similar block 5% is mounted on the lower side of the horn 26.. Hook forming tools 55 and 56 are adjustably mounted upon the support 57 which is, in turn, mounted upon the block 58. A cam block 59 is attached to the slide 5, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and, as the slide 5 is reciprocated, causes the support 58 and the hook forming tools carried thereby to be raised and lowered, engaging the bent ends of the blank and thus forming the hooks upon the two lower ends of the blank simultaneously. Support 58 is held against longitudinal movement on the'bed-plate t, by one of the guides for the slide and the supporting block for the folder blades 60 and 61, as will be seen from Fig. l.

The blank is next advanced into the position shown at G in Fig. 9, where the two lower ends are engaged by'the converging edges of the folder blades 60 and 61 which bring the hooks on the lower edges thereof together, asthe blank is advanced into the position shown at H in Figs. '10 and 11.

The next and final operation is the closing of the hooks to form the joint-on the side of the can body. The mechanism for performing this operation is shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14. A bumper anvil 62 is mounted upon the bumper column 3. A safety spring 63 is positioned between the upper side of the bumper anvil 62 and adjusting screws in the bumper column 8. The purpose of" the safety spring is to provide a slight yielding and adjustment of the anvil to prevent the breaking of the mechanism and frame if the can bodies become jammed, etc. The bumper 64- is slidably mounted in the frame and is engaged by cam 65 attachedto the crank disk 7, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. A facing block 66 of hardened steel is attached to the lower side of the bumper 64 and is engaged by the cam 65, which raises the bumper, causing the same to be moved to the right as the facing 66 engages the fixed cam face 67 and then upwardly to the position shown in Fig, 13. An upper cam face 68 is adjustably mounted on the frame and is engaged by the cam shoe 69 on the bumper 6% as the same is moved as just described. This causes the bumper and its attached; parts to move bodily to the right and then upwardly in a parallelism or without changing its angular position against the spring 70, which returns the same to its lower position as the cam 65 rotates,

these movements being shown in Figs 12 and 13. r I

While the movement of the cam 64 just described is being performed the vertical bumper steel 72 is caused to engage the hook ends ot the blank, pressing the same together and the upward movement causes the fiat bumper steel 71 to engage the joined hooks and close the seam by forcing the same into the slot in the bumper steel 73 in the horn 26. The vertical bumper steel 72 is supported upon a spring and yields downwardly as this last operation is performed, as shown in Fig. 13. These successive operations of forming the joint or seam are shown in Figs. 15, 16 and 17. The can body thus formed is then delivered from the horn 26.

It will thus be seen that a novel arrangement and sequence of the several operations is provided. First bending the blank into U shape and then performing successively the several operations of notching, hook forming, engaging the hooks and closing the seam on the two lower ends simultaneously. A very simple construction is provided for performing these operations and the number of operating parts is considerably reduced, thus simplifying the construction of-the machine as a whole. This permits very rapid operation of the machine and results in a substantial increase in the output and effimoney.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely difierent embodiments of my invention designed without departing from the scope of the appended claims, T intend that all matter contained in the above description &

or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative merely of an operative embodiment of my invention and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is 1. The combination in a can body machine, of means adapted to operate successively in the order named for bending, notching, forming the hooks, engaging the hooks and closing the seamof the blank, and means for advancing the blank for said successive operations thereupon. I

2. The combination in a can body machine, of means adapted to operate successively in the order named for bending the blank into a U shape, notching,forming the hooks, engaging the hooks and closing the seam of the blank, and means for advancing the blank for said successive operations thereupon.

3. The combination in a can body machine, of means adapted to operate successively in the order named for bending the blank into an inverted U shape, notching, forming the hooks, engaging the hooks and closing the seam of the blank, and means for advancing the blank for said successive operations thereupon.

4. The combination in a can body machine, of means for bending the blank intoa U shape, means adapted to operate upon the ends of the blank after the latter has been bent into a U shape to adapt said ends to interlock, guides adapted to hold the blankin position while being operated upon, said guides being removable from their operative position, means for securing and holding said guides stationary in their operative position, and means for advancing the blank.

5. The combination in a can body machine, of means for'bending the blank into a U shape, means adapted to form'hoops upon the ends of the blank after the latter has been bent to U shape, stationary folders po- 'sitioned and adapted to engage the said ends of the blank and bend the sameinwardly into engagement with each other, means for joining said ends, and means for advancing the blank for said successive operations thereupon.

6. The combination in a can body machine, of notching mechanism comprising a pair of cutting devices located one behind the other and adapted to operate upon opposite ends of a can body blank, meansadapted to impart a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said cutting devices, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said cutting devices, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

7. The combination in a can body machine, of notching mechanism comprising a pair of cutters, located one behind the other and adapted to operate upon opposlte ends chine, of notching mechanism comprising a cutting device consisting of a pair of cutters mounted one behind the other on a common support and adapted to operate upon opposite ends of a can body blank, means adapted to impart a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said cutting device,

7 means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said cutting device, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

9. The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into a U shape, notching mechanism comprising a cutting device adapted to act upon the ends of said U shaped blank, means adapted to impart a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said cutting device, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said cutting device, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

10. The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into a U shape, a cutting device adapted to act upon the ends of said U shaped blank, means for operating said cutting device, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said cutting device, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

11'. The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into a U shape, a cutting device adapted to notch the ends of said U shaped blank, means for operating said cutting device, means for holding the projecting ends of the blank in position to be operated upon by said cutting device, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto. g

12. The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into an inverted U shape, notching mechanism comprising a cutting device adapted to notch the ends of said U shaped blank,

means adapted to impart a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said cutting device, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon b and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

13. The combination in a can body ma chine, ofmeans for forming the blank intoa U shape, hook forming mechanism comsaid cutting device,

prising, an initial bending device having a pair of bending tools located one behindthe other and adapted to operate'upon opposite ends of said U shaped blank, means adapted to impart a reciprocating recti- LESE,

linear movement to said initial bending device, a second bending device having a pair of bending tools located one behind the other and adapted to operate upon opposite ends of said U shaped blank, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said second bending device, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said devices, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto,

1%. The combination in a can body machine, of hook forming mechanism comprising, an initial pair of bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, a second pair of hook bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, means for bolding the blank in position to be operated upon by said tools, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

15, The combination in a can body in o chine, of means for forming the blank in 0 an inverted l shape, hook forming mechanism comprising, an initial pair of bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, a second pair of bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said tools, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto 16. The combination in a can body machine, of book forming mechanism comprising, an initial pair of bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a horizontal reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, a second pair of bending tools mounted upon a common support, means for imparting a vertical reciprocating rectilinear movement thereto, means for holding the blank in position to be operated upon by said tools, and means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

17. The combination in a can body ma chine, of means for forming the blank into a ll shape, a cutting device for notching the ends of blank, an initial bending device for bending ends of the blank, a common support upon which said cutting device and bending device are mounted, means for imparting a reciprocating rectilinear movement to said support, a second bending device adapted to bend the ends of the blank into book form, means for operating said device, means for holding the blank, and.

means for feeding the blanks successively thereto.

18, The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank, means for engaging the ends thereof, a bumper pro vided with a portion for closing the engaged ends of the blank and a portion for closing the seam, and means for imparting movement to said bumper bodily sidewise and upward without change of angular position to form the seam.

19. The combination in a can body ma chine, of means for forming the blank into an inverted U shape, means for engaging the ends thereof, a bumper provided with a portion for closing the engaged ends of the blank and a portion for closing the seam, and means for imparting movement to said bumper bodily sidewise and upward without change of angular position to form the seam,

20. The combination in a can body ma chine, 01": means for forming the blank, means for engaging the ends thereof, a bumper provided with a portion for closing the engaged ends of the blank and a portion for closing the seam, and a series of cams adapted to impart movement to said bumper bodily sidewise and upward without change of angular position to form the seam,

21. The combinationin a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into a shape, a removable guide for the blanks, a notching die positioned in said guide, a notching cutter, means for operating said cutter, and means for feeding the blanks.

22. The combination in a can body machine, of means for forming the blank into a U shape, a removable guide for the blanks, a bending die positioned in said guide, a bending tool, means for operating said tool, and means for feeding the blanks.

The combination in a can bodymachine, of means for forming the blank into a U shape, a removable guide for the blanks, hook forming dies positioned in said guide, hook forming tools, means for operating said tools, and means for feeding the blanks.

24:. The combination in a can body chine, of blank feeding means including a reciprocatory slide, a notching device, bending device, and means whereby said slide is caused to operate the said notching and bending devices.

25. The combination in can body machine, of means for forming the blank, means for engaging the ends thereof, a bumper provided with a portion for closing the engaged ends of the blank and a port for closing the seam, means for moving saio. bumper toward the blank, and cooperating cam devices formed on the upper and lower ends of the bumper and on adjacent portions of the machine whereby said bumper is caused to move sidewise when operated by the said means.

26. The combination in a can body ma chine, of means for forming the blank, means for engaging the ends thereof, a bumper provided with a portion for closing the memes engaged end of the blank and a portion for of upward moyement of the seam closing 10 closing the seam, the first mentioned porportion.

tion being yieldingiy mounted in the bum- Signed at the city, county and State of pet;i and means for imparting movement to New York, this 24th day of March, 1914.

sai bumper bodily sidewise and upward 7 without change of angular position to form RQBERT CLARK the seam, the first mentioned portion being Witnesses;

operated by the sidewise movement of the LEWIS J. DooLI'rmE,

bumper and being adapted to yield to allow LOUELLA F. LITTLE. 

